newbie
Americannoun
-
newbies
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of newbie
An Americanism first recorded in 1965–70; perhaps newb(orn) + -ie
Explanation
Newbie is a nickname for someone who is new to something. The new guy on a team or job is a newbie. Someone who just started using the internet is a newbie. Newbies are just starting out. This word — which has new right in it — is a slangy term for someone just starting an activity. A person on their first day at a job is a newbie. A first-time soccer player is a newbie. Freshmen are newbies. The opposite of a newbie is a veteran. Because newbies are inexperienced, they have a lot to learn. Newbies are also called rookies.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Not if you’re a newbie trying to join an intergalactic police force devoted to stopping interplanetary outrages.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Many years ago, when I was a newbie newspaper reporter in the Boston Globe’s Washington bureau, one of my colleagues, Tom Oliphant, gave me a tip that I’ve cherished ever since.
From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026
It's better Clarke handles this rather than throwing in a newbie to start from scratch.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
The newbie nominee won the trophy out of the gate for his portrayal of twins Smoke and Stack in Ryan Coogler’s juke joint-and-vampires movie “Sinners.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2026
First, I would choose one of the kids in my official fan club, someone with no money and a first-level newbie avatar, and give her every item I owned.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
Even complete newbies to meditation had these results on their first session, according to the study, which was published in Mindfulness in March.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
Perfect for VPN newbies, frequent travelers and anyone who values simplicity over saving a few bucks.
From Salon ● Feb. 11, 2026
For Mukherjea, the lesson is to buy blue chip Indian names that domestic newbies find boring and global investors have sidelined to chase AI stocks elsewhere.
From Barron's ● Nov. 20, 2025
Their experience also lets them notice AI mistakes newbies might miss.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2025
“You and the other newbies are working hard. I bet you were definitely going to finish at least fifth.”
From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
